Festival Ready: With Matt Ready - Food Edition

Friday, May 26, 2017

Beaver Tails

Invented by Samuel Champlain, or was it John Cabot? It was definitely an early explorer; of this I am certain. Trust me I have a Bachelor’s Degree in History. I’m not allowed to say from where because they have asked me to stop name dropping them, do with this information what you will. Regardless of who invented the Beavertail you do not need a degree in anything, literally no degree required to know that these pastries are as phenomenal as AJ Styles. Which is a lot, it says so on his gloves.

The classic cinnamon sugar Beavertail was the first thing I ever ate in Ottawa when I came here a decade ago and I swear when the time comes to leave Ottawa it’ll be the last thing I ever eat here. Just the perfectly Canadian way to bookend my time in the Nation’s Capital.

Big D’s

I once went to a certain restaurant whose name is a form of beverage container and I found out I am not a fancy person. At all. I was asked how I wanted my steak cooked and my answer was, “Fire?” After that I thought I would never be a gourmet kinda guy. That was a time when I just didn’t know what to do, but then I found a place my friends, called Big D’s. Big D’s is famed for their award-winning gourmet hotdogs. That’s right I said gourmet! They have over a dozen topping combinations like regional favourites: Le Montreal, Coney Island, and Italian Job. My favourite though would have to be Muerte Taco; It’s a taco on a hotdog, complete with Cool Ranch Doritos. I’m not the only one that thinks that either, the people have spoken on this one as it is the reigning, two-years-running Cornwall Food Fest People’s Choice Award Winner.

Gabriel Pizza

Gabriel Pizza has been an Ottawa area staple for 40 years, that’s older than all but 2 of the books in my personal library. Those who have tasted these angelic slices can easily understand why the pizza has become a pillar of the National Capital Region, and that’s the gospel truth! That one bite will make your heart sing with Handel’s immortal “Hallelujah Chorus”! Add to that the fact that they offer up a roasted red pepper, sun dried tomato, spinach, roasted garlic and parmesan cheese topped Dragon Boat Pizza, in which proceeds help support the community efforts of the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation, then you’ve got yourself a match made in…well, Heaven.

Golden Fries and Grilled Cheeserie

Fries, can you have a summer event without fries? No, the answer is no, so stop pondering my query! As far as fries go you don’t get much better than Golden Fries. They are oh so crispy, crispy enough to significantly slow down the soggification (Yes, that’s a real word! No, you may not look it up!) process that occurs when you turn regular fries into a Poutine. Sorry, did I not mention they do Poutine too? Well, they do! Add on to all that along with their Grilled Cheeserie, Ottawa’s only grilled cheese sandwich truck and you have quite the savoury pairing. My perfect pairing is the Mac N’ Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich and the Deep-Fried Cheese Curd Poutine. Yeah you read that right, battered cheese curds, deep fried dropped on fries and topped of with more curds and rich gravy. My lactose intolerance keeps telling me no but my belly, my belly’s telling me yes!